For Which They Are Named
When she woke up, all she felt was warmth. All she could think was that she never wanted to leave wherever she was that was so incredibly warm. It was like that feeling that you had when it was a cold winter night and you were walking barefoot on cold kitchen tiles or wooden floors and you rushed to your bed and cocooned yourself in blankets. That was the kind of warmth she felt at that moment.
But it didn't seem descriptive enough. It wasn't the right description. Maybe it was like a cold winter's morning, and you're sitting in the living room in your favorite spot. Staring out the window watching the sunrise glisten off the freshly fallen snow. It made the snow look like a field of diamonds. You're wrapped and cuddled into your favorite, fluffy, soft, blanket with a mug of warm coffee, or your favorite herbal tea blend, or hot chocolate.
No, it's still not quite right. She felt the warmth around her shift a little. It moved in a familiar rhythm of up and down. Slow and steady with an undertone of a deep steady beat of a heart. She knew this feeling. This feeling of complete and utter safety. Where everything was right in the world and nothing could go wrong. Where evil did not exist; and if it did, whatever was shielding her kept all the bad away from her.
Yes. She knew this feeling. Not in this life. No. In the last one. When she was Noreen.
When she would snuggle up against her father, tucked away into his side with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat at a steady pace and synced her breathing with his. When they laid on her parents' bed by the window with the sun's mid-morning to afternoon rays filtering through and warming their skin like a blanket in an afternoon nap while her mother took her two youngest daughters outside to play in the fresh green grass. An open window nearby with a late spring, early summer breeze that smelled so fresh and clean. The faint sound of a neighbor mowing their lawn. The birds chirping nearby.
Yes. This was that feeling.
The feeling of safety, of calmness, of care, of compassion, of love, of all things good. That feeling when you had the overprotective dad, but he never smothered you with his overprotectiveness. He knew when to let you fall and hurt so that way you learned, but he was there to protect and help and give advice when you needed it. He wasn't perfect, he worked a lot to support them, but he did it because he loved them all.
This feeling of a loving father. She could never forget it no matter how much time had passed since she felt it. Though there was a slight discomfort and there was an undertone of darkness. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a still sleeping Severus.
That's why it still felt just a smidge different.
He wasn't her father. He wasn't her dad. But for one selfish moment, she allowed herself to pretend. Pretend that her original father—her Dad—was right here. It was enough to calm her mind once again and hold all her feelings back and lock them away so she could think clearly without emotions to hinder logic.
Her brother and she were in what some would call a tricky situation. Severus wouldn't just let them go so freely. If they left abruptly he could probably track them down and find them. It wasn't hard. I mean just look at the color of their hair! They can't hide for shit! That's without all the injuries.
So she'll wait until they are both completely healed and then she'll figure out what to do next. This is just one of those situations you have to play by ear and take it one step at a time while still anticipating what your "opponent's" next move will be, or at least how they would react to what you do or say.
It helps that she has knowledge about Severus's character and has a basic idea about how he would react. Granted, Alan Rickman did an excellent job at portraying this character, so even she can't account for everything. She's not that smart.
It was only a few minutes later when the clock's minute hand-turned ever closer to 5:30 in the morning, did Severus open his eyes. Though, as she watched him wake up, he seemed almost reluctant to open them. As if he wished he could stay asleep forever. The very second she saw his eyes crack open she averted her gaze from them. Yeah, no. She's not trained for occlumency. There are things in her head no one on this god-green earth needs to know or see for that matter. She doesn't mean anything perverted. She's talking about her dark, depressing, morbid mind.
It's not a pretty place to be. Especially when you were able to, in a roundabout way but still not meaning to, convince your eighth-grade English teacher and school that you were suicidal when you wrote a narrative poem about a picture that hung in your childhood bedroom wall that you didn't like hanging there because you thought it was possessed.
Yeah, she has issues. Did she ever receive help? Yes. Was it effective? Hell no it wasn't.
(It's why she doesn't like "Therapists" *cough*shrinks*cough*)
It's why she doesn't trust many people with what goes on in her mind.
Severus shifted some more as he woke up and noticed the extra weight on his lap and curled against his chest. The first thought that went through his head was that there was some kind of creature getting ready to attack him. But then the thing shifted and part of its body—the head, his brain supplied—pressed further against his chest, right above his heart. He waited to take action because he thought that if he moved now, he would startle the beast and cause it to attack him. Severus was about to move his arm slowly to reach for his wand in his pocket when he noticed that his own arms—both of them—were around the creature.
That's when he stopped moving and froze altogether. Even his brain stopped functioning for a brief moment before it flooded his sleep-addled and depressed mind with the events of the previous night. He didn't know what to think. By impulse, he went against everything he told himself.
He took in some mere children he found on the street and cared for them. No, not children. Children were those who went to Hogwarts. Children had a childhood that wasn't traumatizing. Children were inconsiderate little brats that were spoiled rotten by their biased and equally spoiled parents.
This little girl right here was an absolute angel. No one can tell him any different. She was just a young baby that was already been tainted and hurt by this unforgiving world of nonsense and hypocrisy. She has shown that she already has proper manners while still maintaining a decent personality.
(He shouldn't be gettingattachedit'sdangerousthey'llgethurtandleavejustliketheothers)
The girl was just staring up at him, but not into his eyes. She was so trusting of him. She shouldn't. He could hurt her.
(—justlikewhoeverhurtherbefore)
Just then the moment was broken by the sound of a body hitting the floor and a groan of pain. The two sitting together looked over to see that the boy had rolled over and had fallen off of the couch. Severus sighed and grabbed the girl up from under her armpits and cradled her head against his chest before gently setting her on the floor away from the fireplace. He wasn't about to set her fragile baby bone self on a chair she could fall off of like her brother just did.
"Stay there." He told the girl. She responded with an awkward nod of the head. She clearly had that kink in her neck. He went over to the scarlette boy and ran a few diagnostics and was satisfied that he didn't damage himself further from the fall. Severus also noted that he was healing quite well.
The fractures, chips, and minor breaks had already healed correctly. It was a miracle that a great portion of the larger breaks were mostly healed. However, though he made all this progress, his eye socket and the scarring around it seemed to be permanent. The skin would, thankfully, heal over the scarring wounds enough that it would prevent any infection in the future. I would still look pretty bad though.
The eye was gone for good. The socket would be left empty, but covered with a cloth that Severus charmed to keep bacteria, germs, and any other things from getting into it and causing problems. The boy most likely just needed another three days and he'll be healed entirely. At least physically. Mentally he would be permanently scarred and wounded for life—he will never forget what happened. It was traumatizing enough that this will stay with him for the rest of his life.
The girl, Severus wasn't too worried about. She wouldn't ever remember this happening to her and since her wounds were a lot less serious than her brother's—she'll make a full recovery by tomorrow.
With all that being said and done, Severus went to go make the three of them some breakfast. It wasn't much of one. With the two malnourished little ones, an infant and toddler, he couldn't over feed them else they will toss it all back up again. That would do more harm than good especially for the girl seeing as her throat is a very sensitive thing right now.
Speaking of the girl and her injuries, she is nearly completely recovered. Her vocal organs will take a little longer than what the rest of her is taking but she'll be able to use them again to the extent any other child does. By that, he means screaming her little lungs out from playing with other children. Though he wouldn't recommend treating her larynx like that at all, she is a little girl and children don't like to listen to what's best for them.
Oh, how wrong he would soon find himself to be.
With nothing else left to do, the scarlette boy and girl sat on the living room floor on top of a soft conjured rug—courtesy of one Severus Snape. Said man was sitting in the plush, old-fashioned, wingback armchair reading a book. They assumed it was for potions, but they didn't assume any further than that. "Assuming things will make an ass out of you and me" was one of the many things the girl's private guitar teacher taught her back in her old life.
She misses him. He was up there in age but he was a fun teacher. He helped keep her love of music alive and not one lesson was boring. Some were taxing and frustrating, yes, but never boring. He was even the one that taught her that being able to say the alphabet backwards was a bonus because you can help prove that you're not drunk when you really are if you can say the alphabet backwards even when you are drunk off your ass.
Good times, good times. She thought to herself.
The young boy watched over his little sister as she laid on her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. This kind of behavior would worry most adults but not him. He knew she was just thinking. She did it a lot. It's when she overthinks that he needs to start worrying.
Severus noticed the odd behavior of the girl and asked, "Is she alright?"
The boy looked up at Severus and nodded his head. "She's thinking." Was all he said.
Severus looked at the girl strangely, "She's a baby, she shouldn't have the capability to be thinking anything."
"She's a strange one." Was the boy's response.
"Do you have any names?" Severus asked. The girl blinked and responded. "We were never assigned names at birth." She said slowly, making sure she pronounced every word, syllable, and letter correctly.
"Then who are you?" He asked. He tried to ignore that she spoke so properly, but he couldn't. He was beginning to become suspicious now. Could they be aurors sent in disguise to try and throw him in Azkaban like he knows that some of the current Ministry has been trying to do? They weren't doing a good job acting. They were too obvious.
"Nobody." She answered. "We've never been anybody."
"What of your parents?" Severus was starting to think of many different possibilities. His mind was whirring and thinking too fast he couldn't keep up with his own thoughts anymore.
"..." She didn't answer right away and the boy decided to let his sister handle it. He has been told many a time that he has no filter. So he'll just keep his mouth shut before he says anything she thinks he shouldn't. This is a delicate situation, one of which requires delicate handling. Even if they were this 'young'.
"One is as good as dead and the other is quite literally dead." She deadpanned. Severus stayed quiet and didn't say anything in response and let the solemn mood take over.
But what if these were just young children? Severus began to quickly doubt his own theories—he's never done that before, what have these two done to him? He's never been one for sentiment of any kind, at least to what he's let others know about him. In truth he was a man of small sentiment. He still kept the gifts that Lily had gifted him when they were still friends.
His mind brought him back to moments when he lived with his parents as a young boy. His mother always reminded him of who he was. He was Severus, her little boy that she loved so much. His father was the opposite, but at least he told him who he was. At least Severus grew up with an identity.
He took a moment to think. How would he feel if he grew up with no name? No identity? No sense of individuality? Because that is what has clearly happened to these two. He stared at the girl's hair and he whispered, "Scarlet."
The two looked at Severus with identical looks of incredulity and asked in unison, "What?"
Severus swallowed the lump out of his throat and spoke with more clarity, "Scarlet. A last name for two lost children." Was all he said.
"Where did you get that idea?" The boy asked.
"Isn't it obvious," Severus scoffed. Irritated that he had to explain himself when the answer was so clearly in front of them. "You have scarlet hair."
The two little ones paused. Was it really that simple? Just pick out a name and claim it as your own? What about all the paperwork that made the name legal? The boy knew the laws. His sister used to drill it into his head.
The girl, however, thought differently. They needed names for this lifetime. This was a survival of the fittest here.
"Sca-let." She said. "Your name?" She asked Severus. She didn't want to seem suspicious when she says his name when he didn't give it to her.
Severus didn't immediately answer. Then, in a slow drawl worthy of the title 'Dungeon Bat', he answered. "Severus Snape." The girl nodded her head and continued to stare at the ceiling like the weird ass child she was.
The day passed quietly and with nothing happening other than Severus making them take naps so the disgusting ass potions—that the boy swore tasted like shit—could work their magic. Severus, for his credit, tried to fix their malnutrition as quickly as possible using nutrition potions. He hated seeing something so scarily familiar that it made his skin crawl. He tried to hide his unease, but the worried and concerned look that the scarlette girl shot his way when she thought he wasn't looking said otherwise.
During one of the times that Severus had gone down into his basement to brew more potions she crawled over to her older brother and she told him that they would need to leave tonight. He asked why when they were being housed and fed. It made no sense to him until she explained that eventually, by law, Severus would have to take them to be put in the system or claimed somehow so they could have 'guardians' to watch over them. Being magical children didn't help their case.
Non-magical Law they were familiar with when it came to these types of things, but magical? They were clueless and weren't going to take any chances. The boy agreed, but he told her that they would need supplies and a place to stay.
She told him not to worry and that she'd figure it all out.
The boy didn't like that she was trying to shoulder all this herself without any sort of help. It wasn't healthy for her mentality. He knew how she was. It nearly broke her in their last life. Then again, he didn't know what to do. She was the planner, he was the impulsive one. Though he still thought that what she was thinking was pretty impulsive all in itself.
That night, when Severus had fallen asleep on the couch watching the two, they gathered themselves up and began making their way out the front door. The girl paused, "You go ahead, brother. I'll meet up with you down the street."
The boy turned and looked at her from over his shoulder. "What do you mean? We need to get out of here!" He whispered furiously. The girl shook her head. "Just wait for me. There's something that I need to do."
"Or what?" He scoffed, "It'll rest in your conscience for the rest of your life?"
She didn't say anything in reply, only stared at him until he threw his hands up and rolled his eyes. "Fine! But if anything happens…" He got up close to her face, "...know this is on you."
"I know." Was all she said.
With a nod, the boy walked out the front door and continued walking to the end of the street. Meanwhile, the girl crept around the living room looking for a pen and paper. She found a blank piece of parchment, but no pens. Not even a pencil! …Oh wait. That's right. Severus is a wizard. He uses quills. So looking around for a quill, she dug around in drawers and cabinets. In the occasional box and container until she came across both a quill and ink bottle on a desk in what appeared to be a small study room just down the hall from the living room. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she knew that Severus could wake up at any moment. She had to be cautious and make as little noise as possible. Poising the quill over the paper after dipping it gently into the inkwell she began to write.
Dear Severus,
Thank you so much for healing us. Thank you for the housing, the food, the gentle care, and the warm hearth and home. You have shown us a great kindness that we are not inclined to soon forget. We are in your debt for this kindness that you have shown. We owe you our lives. We both would have surely died in that cold forsaken alley way if you had not come along and saved us. What possessed you to do so I will never know, but I am forever grateful that you did.
I know you think us odd. Many would be inclined to believe the same after meeting us I suppose; however, we have not actually met anyone other than our "parents". I have no doubt that we will meet again one day. When, I do not know. You may be wondering why we left. It isn't all that complicated really. The legalities of taking care of us isn't the easiest to deal with. We'd, or rather I, would rather spare you the stress. However, this is not the true reason. As I sit here and remember days of peace and happiness before everything went to hell, I remembered something that I thought I would share with you that actually convinced me to move on with my brother and find our own way.
Yours Truly,
The Female Scarlet.
At the very bottom of the letter, underneath her 'signature' she added one last thing.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
With one final glance over and letting the ink dry, the Scarlet girl folded the parchment and quickly scrawled Severus's name on it. She then continued to put every but into its place the exact same way it was before. She found some disinfectant and wiped down all the surfaces and objects she touched. With all that being done, she took one last final glance over the sleeping man and she left the house without leaving a single trace that they were even there other than the single letter placed on the lap of one Severus Snape to which it was assigned to.
The girl met up with her brother at the end of the street and he grabbed her hand when she reached for his. She slowed down to walk in pace with her brother and they continued on down the pavement and into the shadows of the night.
They were walking for days by this point. They only stopped for food once when there was a person pitying them enough to give them a full meal and then some. That was how they survived. They hadn't eaten all of it and rationed the rest of the food they had. The girl had taken the lead roughly thirty minutes ago on the sixth day of their journey and the Scarlet male was very sure she was lost. Even he was lost. Granted his little sister had a better sense of direction than him, but he would never say that to her face. She'd never let him live it down.
He was close to just stopping and pulling her to stop with him when they came across an old run down building that looks as though it served as a warehouse once upon a time. The boy looked to the female next to him and saw the smug grin she sent his way. He couldn't help the roll of his eyes when she did so. She let go of his hand and began to creep forward at a slow pace in order to scope out the place.
The building itself was two stories and rectangular in shape. The walls that are longer in length were lined with broken, cracked, or dusty windows caked in dirt and grime from years of neglect. Old rotten fallen beams were found sporadically around where there were obvious signs of leakage and infestation. A set of stairs leading to a second floor laid in partial ruins. It looked as if it would fall apart at any moment.
A solution that they ended up using to fix this slight problem was just to simply lay some old but sturdy looking boards at an angle and used them at a makeshift ramp. As the two made their way up they saw that some portions of all four walls on the second floor were missing, falling over, or rotten. That included parts of the ceiling and roof; consequently, leaving any kind of weather in through the open space. The floors didn't seem to be in such a bad shape considering; however, that didn't stop the siblings from stepping carefully and watching for weak spots in the floor.
Seeing as there was no one around for about a mile—they knew this only because that's how far they walked from the last town—they decided to split up and search around for anything useful. The boy took the second floor where there seemed to be more deterioration of the building. The girl on the other hand took to searching the first floor.
She did some rummaging around and moved a few boards and piles of debris out of her way while she searched for any supplies. After she had kicked a piece of fallen wood away from her, she caused a chain reaction and made a lot more debris fall and shift until it revealed what appeared to be some old crates close to the far wall that were still sealed off.
"Hey brother! I found something!" She yelled.
"Coming!" The sound of thumping footsteps reached her ears as her brother ran towards her but stopped a few feet away when he caught sight of the very thing she was looking at.
"Did you find anything up there?" She asked.
"No." He answered back. "I didn't really expect to seeing as the state up on the second floor was deplorable. What have you got here?" His little sister shrugged in response.
"No idea, but I think we should pop them open and see if they have anything useful."
They began hacking away at the tops of the crates and eventually one of the lids made a pop sound. The lid lifted an inch. The siblings glanced at each other and the boy opened the crate the rest of the way. They both looked to find what was inside and they couldn't believe their eyes.
"...No way…"
